Operation Nha Trang II

Operation Nha Trang II (11 December 1965) was a major operation that the United States undertook during the early stages of the Vietnam War. In December 1965, as US troop numbers rose high, the South Vietnamese Army was pushed back from villages near the airbase at Nha Trang and the Viet Cong communist guerrillas took over large areas nearby. In response, the Americans launched an offensive that damaged the VC's fighting resolve.

Background
The United States sent the US 173rd Airborne Brigade to South Vietnam in August 1965, the first ground troops to land in the country. By the end of 1964, there were 23,300 US troops in Vietnam - these numbers rose to 184,300 within one year. 1965 was the first year of regimental-size US combat operations, and their first major battle with the North Vietnamese Army occurred at Ia Drang in November. The US troops in Vietnam had only started their war of eleven years that cost 58,000 US young men.

American troops had built bases at Da Nang, An Loc, Nha Trang, Pleiku, Qui Nonh, and others, and it was really important to defend these troop centers. In October 1965, the US Army launched Operation Nha Trang I to expel enemy Viet Cong troops from the area around Nha Trang Airbase, and they succeeded. However, they failed to eradicate the whole enemy presence, which grew day by day. In December 1965, the Viet Cong overran South Vietnamese Army positions around Nha Trang and forced the SVA to retreat back to Nha Trang. The urgency of defending the base was high, so General William B. Westmoreland ordered an offensive by MACV-SOG to recapture the nearby jungles.

Battle
The Viet Cong success was due to their supply of Soviet and Chinese-made weaponry such as RPKs, AK-47s, and FN-FALs, their side equipment such as cameras, Surface-to-Air defense systems, and maps. The Viet Cong were able to overrun two villages in close proximity to Nha Trang, whose strategic value was meagre but their location important. 300 troops of MACV-SOG were dispatched to clear the jungle of Viet Cong presence, with local communist forces numbering around 1,000.

The American troops inserted into the area fared well, attacking Viet Cong troops as they entered the operation area from undernath a broken bridge. The communists were supplied by air, with arms drops being sent in through helicopters. Taking advantage of this, the Americans were able to capture a SAM package that was meant for the Viet Cong troops and destroyed another one, while also shooting down a North Vietnamese Army helicopter that was supposed to drop a SAM package for them. By the end of the day, 100 Viet Cong and 67 Americans were dead, and the operation was an American success.